Note: These are short reviews I'd posted on Goodreads prior to starting writing full reviews. Sorry!
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Brightest Kind of Darkness by P.T. Michelle[/caption]Every night Nara goes to sleep, she dreams her next day. While she usually resists the urge to change the course of events, she can’t step aside when she knows a bomb will go off inside her school and anonymously tips off the police. She prevents the tragedy, but the events that begin to unfold after seem to indicate that fate is totally not cool with her interference.
What I loved:
The characters were fantastic. Nara is a typical teenager who uses her special powers to do things like pass tests and predict her next soccer game so she knows where the ball is going to go – just as I imagine any girl her age would. She’s not the popular girl but nor is she the outcast. What I loved most about her – and for whatever reason this is so difficult to find in young adult books – she isn’t a girl who is blinded by infatuation or unhealthily obsessed with a boy (ahem Twilight). Nara likes Ethan, but doesn't let her feelings cloud her judgment. She approaches the relationship enthusiastically, but with caution. It’s a great example to set for young female readers.
Ethan was great, too. He was the mysterious new kid who came to school with suspicious rumors about his past (they said he beat up someone in his last school). While he had his issues, he never took that out on Nara or acted like a jerk playing a martyr (ahem Twilight). Don’t get me wrong, there were several times where he “saved” her, but he never took on the dominant protector role or acted like he knew what was best for her. Ethan and Nara balanced each other out – the yin and yang.
What I liked:
I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn't one of those stereotypical teen romance novels. The plot was unpredictable, but not overly so that you ask yourself, “Did the writer just throw this in here to surprise people?” Everything made sense and seemed believable – which is an especially grand achievement considering it was a book dealing with paranormal subject matter. It flowed at a steady pace and there were no parts that seemed to drone on forever without really adding to the plot. The ending was good. It definitely made me eager to read more to find out what happens next, but it wasn’t like some other books where it abruptly cuts off and you’re sitting there asking yourself if only half the book downloaded.
What I “meh”d:
I liked prettymuch everything. Some things could’ve been better explained – why Ethan draws pictures of monsters (I know he said it is a coping mechanism, but it seems like there is more to that when Nara begins seeing them)? And what’s the deal with Nara’s MIA father trying to contact her? I’m assuming more of it will be explained in the next book.
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